Tool for removing snap strips



Feb. 28, 1956 J. R. THYGESON TOOL FOR REMOVING SNAP STRIPS Filed Feb. 18, 1955 United States Patent TOOL non REMOVING SNAP STRIPS John R. Thygeson, Fox Chase Manor, Abington Township, Philadelphia County, Pa., assignor to Proctor and Schwartz, Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 18, 1953, Serial No. 337,587

Claims. (Cl. 29-270) The present invention relates to new and. useful improvements in tools for removing fasteners and more particularly to new and useful improvements in tools for removing a continuous snap strip and like fasteners from a housing in order to permit a wall panel or other member engaged by the snap strip to be removed from the housing.

A tool of this type has particular application in dryers and other equipment which are constructed in such a manner that the side wall panels are held in position by means of snap strips resiliently engaged in the frame members of the equipment. Prior to-the present invention, in order to remove snap strips of this type, a screw driver, chisel, or other similartool was inserted beneath one edge of the snap strip and the strip was pried away from the housing. This procedure frequently damaged the snap strip or the adjacent panel thereby necessitating the use of new parts when reassembling the housing. In addition, this procedure is relatively slow and cumbersome and requires a considerable amount of man power in order to remove a wall panel from the housing.

With the foregoing in mind, the principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel tool for removing snap strips which may be engaged beneath the snap strip and will force the snap strip away from the housing without causing any damage to the snap strip or housing.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel tool for removing snap strips which will remove the snap strips in one continuous operation thereby decreasing the time required for removing wall panels from a housing.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a novel tool for removing snap strips having the features and characteristics set forth which is of a relatively simplified construction and may be manufactured easily and cheaply.

These and other objects of the present invention and the various features and details of the operation and construction thereof are hereinafter more fully set forth and described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a housing having wall panels which are maintained in position by snap strips;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary. sectional view taken on line 22, Fig. 1, illustrating a typical wall construction of the housing;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a tool for removing snap strips made in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of the housing wall illustrating the use of the tool for beginning the operation of removing a snap strip; 1

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 5-5, Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the tool of the present invention as it is normally used in removing a snap strip;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 7-7, Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on line 8-8, Fig. 3 illustrating the sharpened edge portion of the tool which is initially engaged beneaththe snap strip. 1

Referring more specifically to the drawings, in Figs. 1 and 2 there is illustrated a housing, designated generally as 10, for a dryer or similar apparatus wherein the side wall portions consist of panels 11 removably secured to frame members 12 by means of snap strips 13. The snap strips 13 have spaced-apart, continuous finger portions 14, 14 thereon resiliently engaged in slots in the frame members 12 and a flanged portion 15 which engages the edges of adjacent panel sections to maintain the panel sections in position on the housing wall. In order to remove a Wall panel, the snap strips engaging the panel must be forcibly disengaged from the frame member 12.

In accordance with the present invention, a tool, constructed as illustrated in Fig. 3, is provided which may be positioned between the flanged portion 15 of the snap strips 13 and the wall panel 11 to disengage the snap strips 13 from the frame member 12. The tool comprises a handle portion designated generally at 16, having a head portion 17 fixedly secured thereon, for example, by spot welding. The head 17 of the tool is generally channel shaped and comprises a rear wall portion 18 which is secured at its mid-point to the handle 16. Side wall portions 19, 19 extend outwardly from the rear Wall portion at substantial right angles thereto and terminate in inwardly extending front wall portions 22, 22 disposed in spaced parallel relationship with the rear wall 18. The lower edges of the opposite front wall portions are cut on the bias to converge inwardly toward each other and are sharpened, as illustrated in Fig. 8, while the upper edge portions thereof terminate in in wardly projecting wedge shaped lips 23, 23. By this construction each front wall portion of the tool head has a Wedge shaped working surface thereon which increases in height as it approaches the upper surface of the tool.

As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 6, the head 17 is secured to the upper portion of the tool handle and the lower portion of the tool handle is displaced rearwardly from the head of the tool to permit the handle to be easily grasped by the user when the tool head is flush with the wall panel of the housing. In addition, the upper end of the handle terminates in aflat chisel shaped portion 24 disposed at right angles to the tool handle to provide means for prying the upper end of the snap strip away from the housing if it is not possible to insert the head of the tool between the snap strip and the housing.

During normal use of the tool to remove a snap strip from the side wall of the housing, the tool head 17 is placed at the one end of a snap strip with the sharpened edge portions of the front walls of the tool head disposed between the snap strip flange and the housing wall. The tool is then pulled longitudinally along the snap strip and the wedge shaped lips 23, 23 engage the inner surface of the snap strip flange thereby forcibly removing the snap strip from engagement with the channel member to which it is secured. In some instances the snap strip will be secured to the channel member in such a manner that it will be impossible to place the sharpened edge portions of the face of the tool head beneath the snap strip. In this case the chisel shaped portion 24 of the tool handle is forced between the upper end of the snap strip and the wall panel thereby starting removal of the snap strip, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. The tool is then used in the manner previously described to complete the removal of the snap strip. In addition, if it is difficult to pull the tool along the snap strip after the tool is in position behind the snap strip, a hammer or mallet may be used, as illustrated in Fig. 6, in order to force the tool longitudinally of the strip and remove the snap strip from the housing wall.

From the foregoing, it will be observed that the present invention provides a novel tool for removing snap strips which may 'be engaged beneath the snap strip and will force the same away from the housing without causing any damage to the snap strip or to the housing. in addition, the present invention provides a novel tool for removing snap strips in one continuous operation thereby decreasing the time required for removing wall panels from a housing.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention'has been illustrated and described herein, it is not intended to limit the invention to such a disclosure and changes and modifications may be incorporated and embodied therein within the scope of the following claims.

Iclaim:

l. A tool for removing flanged snap strips from wall structures comprising an elongated handle, a head at one end of the handle comprising a base extending transversely of said handle and having side walls extending outwardly from the opposite ends of said base portion and terminating in inwardly turned flanges disposed substantially parallel to the base portion with their free edges relatively spaced apart and arranged to engage between the wall structure and the flanges of the snap strip as the tool is manipulated in a direction longitudinally of the snap strip, said free edges of the flanges converging for a portion of the length of the head from the leading end thereof and merging into inturned cam portions disposed substantially normal to the flanges, said cam portions being of gradually increasing height lengthwise of the head and operable upon movement of the tool longitudinally of the snap strip to force the flanges of the snap strip outwardly away from the wall structure and disengage the snap strip therefrom.

2. A tool for removing flanged snap strips from wall structures comprising an elongated handle, a head at one end of the handle comprising a base extending transversely of said handle and having side walls extending perpendicularly outward from the opposite ends of said base portion and terminating in inwardly turned flanges disposed in spaced substantially parallel relation to the base portion with their free edges relatively spaced apart and arranged to engage between the wall structure and the flanges of the snap strip as the tool is manipulated in a direction longitudinally of the snap strip, said free edges of the flanges converging for a portion of the length of the head from the leading end thereof and merging into inturned cam portions disposed substantially normal to the flanges, said cam portions being of gradually increasing height lengthwise of the head and operable upon movement of the tool longitudinally of the snap strip to force the flanges of the snap strip outwardly away from the wall structure and disengage the snap strip therefrom.

3. A tool for removing flanged snap strips from wall structures comprising an elongated handle, a head at one end of the handle comprising a base extending transversely of said handle and having side walls extending outwardly from the opposite ends of said base portion and terminating in inwardly-turned aligned flanges disposed substantially parallel to the base portion with their free edges relatively spaced apart and arranged to engage between the wall structure and the flanges of the snap strip as the tool is manipulated in a direction longitudinally of the snap strip, said free edges of the flanges being sharpened and converging for a portion of the length of the head from the leading end thereof and merging into inturned cam portions disposed substantially normal to the flanges, said cam portions being of gradually increasing height lengthwise of the head and operable upon movement of the tool longitudinally of the snap strip to force the flanges of the snap strip outwardly away from the wall structure and disengage the snap strip therefrom.

4. A tool for removing flanged snap strips from wall structures comprising an elongated handle, a head at one end of the handle comprising a base extending transversely of said handle and having side walls extending outwardly from the opposite ends of said base portion and terminating in inwardly turned flanges disposed substantially parallel to the base portion with their free edges relatively spaced apart and arranged to engage between the wall structure and the flanges of the snap strip as the tool is manipulated in a direction longitudinally of the snap strip, said free edges of-the flanges converging for a portion ofthe length of the head from the leading end thereof and merging into inturned cam portions disposed substantially normal to the flanges, said cam portions being of gradually increasing height lengthwise of the head and operable upon movement of the tool longitudinally of the snap strip to force the flanges of the snap strip outwardly away from the wall structure and disengage the snap strip therefrom, and a chisel-shaped member adjacent said head and projecting normal to said base to provide an anvil for impact loading of the head, said member being operable when the head is disengaged from the snap strip flanges to engage a snap strip flange and pry the same outwardly away from the wall structure.

5. A tool for removing flanged snap strips from wall structures comprising an elongated handle, a head at one end of the handle comprising a base extending transversely of said handle and having side walls extending outwardly from the opposite ends of said base portion and terminating in inwardly-turned flanges disposed substantially parallel to the base portion with their free edges relatively spaced apart and arranged to engage between the wall structure and the flanges of the snap strip as the tool is manipulated in a direction longitudinally of the snap strip, said free edges of the flanges converging for a portion of the length of the head from the leading end thereof and merging into inturned cam portions disposed substantially normal to the flanges, said cam portions being of gradually increasing height lengthwise of the head and operable upon movement of the tool longitudinally of the snap strip to force the flanges of the snap strip outwardly away from the wall structure and disengage the snap strip therefrom, said handle at said one end being turned outwarlly and sharpened to provide a chisel-shaped member adjacent said head and projecting normal to said base to provide an anvil for impact loading of the head, said member being operable when the head is disengaged from the snap strip flanges to engage a snap strip flange and pry the same outwardly away from the Wall structure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

